The year turns sour for Wall Street banks

The industry is under pressure after lending billions to energy companies that are now grappling with falling oil prices and plummeting profits. It is Wall Street’s biggest challenge in years and a potential test of whether reforms put in place after the 2008 financial crisis are strong enough to withstand new market pressure. [Source: Washington Post]

Investing in economic development incentives will boost Florida's economy

Florida TaxWatch is calling for the Legislature to invest in the state’s economic incentive programs to continue to grow the economy and create key jobs for Floridians. At this story, you'll find comments from Florida TaxWatch CEO Dominic M. Calabro, former U.S. Senator George LeMieux, Cissy Proctor, Executive Director of the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity, and others. Go to article.

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Alto ‘Bud' Adams Jr. is a ‘Florida Icon'

Ruminations from Florida rancher Alto “Bud” Adams Jr. on life and ranching in Florida, including: “A deer with a rack of horns or a wild turkey, oh I love to shoot them, but a bear is too much like a man for me to want to go up and shoot him.” Access full story.

Middle East buyers take interest in Orlando real estate

Britons, Canadians and South Americans have long driven foreign investment in the region. But the improved connection to the Middle East comes at a time when a strengthening dollar has made U.S. property less appealing to some other foreign buyers. [Source: Orlando Sentinel]

Zika virus cases in Florida at 24

Florida now has 24 recorded cases of the Zika virus, state health officials said Thursday in disclosing two new cases in Miami-Dade County. Nine cases of Zika infection have been confirmed in Miami-Dade — more than twice the number verified in any other county in the state. More from the Palm Beach Post and the Miami Herald.

ALSO AROUND FLORIDA:

› Disney to cut back on employee hours despite boom in Florida tourism [WFTV]
Disney is coming off its most successful quarterly earnings report in company history, but many employees at Orlando parks learned their hours would be cut. Despite Orlando’s booming tourist numbers, Disney is seeing problems at other locations.

› South Florida bank files $8.5M lawsuit against agricultural company [South Florida Business Journal]
Floridian Community Bank filed an $8.45 million foreclosure and asset repossession lawsuit against a group of related agricultural companies with operations in south and central Florida.

› I-Drive 360 finds market in private, corporate event rentals [Orlando Sentinel]
When Orlando-based developer Chuck Whittall built I-Drive 360, an entertainment complex on International Drive, he wasn't just adding new attractions to the bustling tourist district.

› Unusual sporting events, such as curling, key to Jacksonville Sports Council's marketing [Florida Times-Union]
The Jacksonville sports scene took some incredible leaps lately, shifting from curling to college football within one week. But there’s a reason behind it all, just as there’s strategy behind curling’s brush, stone and sheet.

Go to page 2 for more stories ...

› Battling Ubers case leaves behemoth unable to launch new feature [Gainesville Sun]
Uber, the mobile application that allows users to call for a community-based taxi-like service, is tangling with a local company — called Uber Promotions — over what the Gainesville-based company says is trademark infringement.

› Economic development corporation settles open-records lawsuit [Sarasota Herald-Tribune]
Sarasota County’s economic development agency and a watchdog nonprofit group settled a long-standing legal battle Thursday over whether the agency must submit to Florida’s open government laws.

› Duke Energy to seek sale of international business [The News & Observer]
Duke Energy will sell its international business, the company said Thursday as it announced 2015 earnings that were hurt by volatile returns in Central and South America.

› Today's investors must work harder to flip homes [South Florida Sun-Sentinel]
Higher prices haven't put an end to home flipping in South Florida, a new report shows. Flips accounted for 6.3 percent of third-quarter home and condominium sales in Palm Beach County, up from 5.9 percent in the same period of 2014.